Czech comic wins this year's Muriel award

Radio Prague International interviewed Pavel Korinek, head of Czechia's comics academy, about a recent story called Oskar Ed by Branko Jelinek, which won the year's Muriel award:

For those who haven’t seen the book, who exactly is Oskar Ed? Is he a fictional character or something more personal?

"Oskar Ed is a fictional character who is in many ways typical of Branko Jelinek’s work. He is a recurring figure, though not in the sense of sequels or traditional series volumes. Rather, Jelinek works with Oskar Ed almost like an actor, a character he places at the centre of different graphic novels."

"In this book, Oskar Ed is a nearly middle-aged man struggling with family issues and dissatisfaction at work, a corporate job that doesn’t truly fulfil him. He is no longer a young man. He is haunted by his insecurities and by his rather precarious personal situation." [...]

And finally, is there a chance that Oskar Ed will reach English-speaking readers? Do you think it could eventually be translated into English?

"Hopefully, yes. Previous books featuring Oskar Ed have already been published abroad — in France and in Poland, for example. The second book was translated into several other languages as well."

"I know there have been attempts to publish Oskar Ed in English. At one point, the well-known alternative comics publisher Fantagraphics in Seattle was considering it."

"I hope that the four Muriel Awards won by the latest Oskar Ed graphic novel will serve as another reminder that something truly exciting is happening in Czech comics, and that English-speaking readers may soon have the chance to encounter Oskar Ed in translation."

I do think drama-based comics like these are what parents should encourage their children to read, certainly far more than action-adventure comics in mainstream today, and it's about time families did give comics like these a go if they really want their children to have something sophisticated to challenge their reading skills. So when will that happen? Exactly why I hope some publisher in the USA takes up the challenge of translating it into English, and also remains faithful to the comic's Czech cultural background.

Stamps based on famous comics and cartoon characters

The US Postal Service has an article about some special commemorative stamps they've developed, based on at least a few comics and cartoon characters in recent times, which includes the following:

• 1997’s Bugs Bunny featuring the animated rabbit leaning on a mailbox with a carrot in hand;
• 2006’s DC Comics Super Heroes, featuring portraits of Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Supergirl and Plastic Man in a 20-design pane;
• 2015’s Batman, featuring four versions of Batman drawn from different comic book eras, paired with four “bat-signals” that trace the evolution of his character; and
• 2016’s Wonder Woman, featuring four portraits of the Amazon princess from different comic book eras, emphasizing both her physical power and her sense of purpose.

Well at least this kind of venture is more appealing at this point than the artistic fiasco DC degenerated into by that time. But for all we know, even this could end up being craved by the speculator market, and that wouldn't be any better than how pamphlets are repeatedly bought by such decidedly misguided and embarrassing people for the sake of money, and in hopes the newer ones will actually make the same, which first brought down industry in the mid-90s.

Putting comics and cartoon characters on stamps can be creative, and might be preferable to some other forms of merchandise, but even that's no substitute for artistic quality in terms of storytelling.

New ANN report suggests wages for animation in Japan not as bad as previously claimed

In a followup to this previous article, there's now a report on Anime News Network that wages for animation development aren't as bad as what the Asahi Shimbun claimed:

From reports of monthly salaries as low as 160,000 yen (US$1,034) in 2015 to the examples of scant wages seen with 2020's #AnimationPaidMe hashtag, there have been numerous horror stories about working as a newbie animator in Japan—namely, the inability to earn a living wage. To find out if this was still the case, ANN met with numerous industry individuals—from freelance and studio-employed animators to studio heads and animator rights advocates. (This article contains quotes from only a select few of them.)

However, rather than tales of doom and gloom, we found universal agreement that, over the past five years, animator wages and working conditions have improved dramatically. When it comes down to it, this is mostly due to a shift in the inner workings of the anime industry.

“Since the Japanese anime industry continues to expand, we're left with the current situation where there is inevitably a shortage of human resources.” Hiroki Yoshioka, President of animation studio ENGI, told Anime News Network.

Studios are producing more anime now than ever before, but they are struggling to keep up. This is doubly true for 3D animation teams, who face an additional rival for recruiting recently graduated animators, as many 3D animators are more interested in making games than anime, since game companies pay higher wages.

To combat this animator shortage, large-to-mid-size studios—or studios with access to parent companies' resources—have spent the last few years reorganizing their animation departments. “Until about 10 years ago, many animation production companies paid on a commission basis—though they were hiring to a certain extent. However, in recent years, animation production companies have revised their labor standards, making it necessary to hire full-time employees,” Yoshioka explained.

The best place to get these animators? Right out of school. However, that's just the first hurdle. “While hiring characteristics differ between CG and hand-drawn (paper or digital pen) animators, when it comes to hand-drawn animation, one reason for [the difficulty in recruiting] is that the level of training offered at vocational schools and universities is far from sufficient for immediate practical application,” Yoshioka continued. “Therefore, when hiring new graduates, they need to be taught [the job] from scratch.”

Junji Murata, president of MAHO FILM, shares a similar view. “They need to train animators from scratch,” he told us. “Animators are like actors. It takes a lot of training to master first-class acting, so it's not something anyone can do easily—thus, there's a shortage of talent.”

And make no mistake: turning a fresh graduate into a veteran animator is not a short process. “Even if they are paid a fixed salary as full-time employees, their skills are low, requiring companies to continue investing in their employees' growth over an average of five years,” Yoshioka said. “I believe that less than half of these employees reach a level where they can be considered a valuable asset.”

This is right in line with Murata's assessment as well: “Three to five years to become halfway competent. Ten years to become fully competent.”

Well if that's the case, it suggests some animation employees are being awfully fussy when they don't have the full skills needed to qualify, and this in an industry where merit's given higher emphasis than what the USA industry showed in past decades. So, maybe the press was just unwisely playing along without getting the whole story. Obviously, even in Japan this is a problem. So, let's hope some animators will be willing to learn some lessons moving forward about why it pays to prove they believe in being talented as much as in asking for higher salaries. That would do the whole profession a lot more good.

What's been said about Disney's Hey AJ cartoon series and its use of a durag for a superhero

According to Breitbart, there's been backlash against against a cartoon show on Disney called Hey AJ, featuring a character named Captain Durag, based on its alleged employment of stereotypes, including the costume's accessories:

The black superhero character wears a durag on his head in Disney’s Hey, AJ series. The head covering, which is common in the black community and used to protect treated hair or to protect intricate hair braids, has gone from a mere utilitarian item to a cultural statement for many American blacks.

But the cartoon’s use of the headwrap has led some to criticize the Disney character as being insensitive, stereotypical, or even “disrespectful,” according to PrimeTimer.

Criticism of the character includes accusations of tone deafness, lazy writing, and claims the character is somehow engaging in cultural ridicule.

But the creator of the character, Camille Corbett, who is black, has replied to the attacks on her X account.

“I created the character Durag Man, now known as Captain Durag on the Disney Show, Hey AJ and I’m just finding out people are finding it problematic? I just wanted our culture to have a superhero of its own!” she wrote.

As bad as Disney is today, this does sound like a forced overreaction from leftists who're anti-culture, selectively or otherwise, and if so, then of course that's a shame this woke mentality's still around. It's only brought pop culture to a point where it risks being near impossible to create anything challenging, and that's unacceptable.

That said, Disney's still not worth tuning into at this point, and they'll need a much better overhaul of leadership and creativity if they're ever to be considered worth financing again.

A new comic starring M.A.S.K, and a movie adaptation

The Hollywood Reporter announced the launching of a new comic based on the M.A.S.K toy franchise, which also saw an animated adaptation during the mid-1980s, with Robert Kirkman's Skybound publishing outfit overseeing it under the Image banner:

Now, after mostly surviving as an occasional comic and occasional movie development announcement, M.A.S.K. is back in its most high-profile way thanks for Invincible co-creator Robert Kirkman and his Skybound multimedia production banner.

Skybound revealed a new ongoing comic from writer Dan Watters (Batman: Dark Patterns), artist Pye Parr (New Gods), colorist Pierluigi Casolino and letterer Rus Wooton. The announcement was made Friday by Kirkman at ComicsPro, as part of the annual meeting of comic book industry retailers, publishers, and distributors held in Glendale, Calif. The first issue is due to hit comic book shelves via Image Comics June 3.

Okay, good luck to them in following up their acquisition of the GI Joe/Transformers license from Hasbro, which is the main owner of the M.A.S.K toys today, having bought out Kenner in the early 1990s. But I still find it regrettable they're sticking to the notion of producing this foremost as a pamphlet series monthly, and even hinting at a lack of confidence by selling it with variant covers:

The first issue will showcase a main cover by Parr, with a lineup of variant covers from artists ranging from J. Scott Campbell, Cedric Poulat, Mark Spears, Daniel Warren Johnson, among many others.

M.A.S.K No. 1 will also features the first-ever Energon Universe blind bag program that allows fans a chance to get any of the solicited covers, intermixed at varying degrees of rarity. There will also be rare surprise covers that will not be publicly announced in advance of the issue release.

No matter how much I admire Campbell's artwork, I'm not going to soften my stance on why variants have made a joke out of marketing, and if they're concealing the actual covers in special wrapping, that risks making it worse, because it's like they're encouraging everybody to buy multiple copies to see if they can get all variants produced. If that's what they have in mind, it's dishonest and disrespectful to consumers.

And while we're on the topic, Entertainment Ireland says there looks to be a live action movie with one of the most prominent directors from the Fast & Furious series assigned to the job:

...Anyway, a live-action adaptation has been mooted for many years, but now it looks like it's finally coming to fruition as it's been confirmed that F. Gary Gray, director of Fast & Furious 8 and Straight Outta Compton, has been lined up to turn your childhood nostalgia into a workable film.

Gee, what if the finished product is anything but? The Fast & Furious series became tiresome and pointless after 2-3 entries, and when I watched the 8th, what insulted my intellect there was that a murderous criminal was suddenly turned into an ally. That was even more ludicrous than how sexless the approach became by that point. That the franchise even started veering into science-fiction terrain was also pretty risible. I just couldn't take it anymore, so why must we assume Gray will show any sign of improvement with this new movie project?

Yet even the upcoming comics should obviously be approached with a degree of caution, because even if they don't inject stealth leftist politics, that doesn't guarantee the new series will be entertaining. What I do know is that under Skybound, they may have made the Energon universe they've produced more grisly, recalling a page from their Transformers series where it looked like Starscream smashed a human to death. Even if that wasn't graphic or direct, it's still troubling. So what can we expect from a Skybound-helmed M.A.S.K comic? That remains to be seen. For now, let me just say it's insulting to the intellect if anybody thinks new stories based on old toy franchises have to be "adult" in the context of bloodletting, and I'd be much happier if all involved would at least avoid resorting to jarring violence just to "prove" where they can go with older products. It's rather obvious where they can, so they'd do better to avoid being horrific when it comes to mayhem.

Late Oklahoma lawyer's comics collection put up for auction

Another case of classic comics being sold on auction, as told by the Oklahoma Gazette:

A remarkable comic book collection assembled over a lifetime by late Oklahoma City attorney Eric J. Groves is headed to auction this month.

Groves, who died last July at 82, was widely known for his civic leadership, preservation efforts and support of the arts. Less publicly — though no less passionately — he was a devoted comic book historian and collector.

Now, his trove will be featured in Event Auction 65 hosted by ComicConnect, running Feb. 23 through March 15–19. The collection includes first appearances of iconic characters such as Captain America, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Mickey Mouse and Blue Beetle, along with a deep selection of prized Golden Age titles.

There goes another collection straight onto the speculator market instead of a museum. And once more, it's a shame. It's great if the guy was a historian, but why it's okay with anybody involved that the collections just get sold into a sales cycle is stupefyingly bizarre as it's sad.

Old Dungeons & Dragons cartoon show revisited in new IDW comic

Polygon says there's a new comic produced of recent that's supposed to draw from the 1983-85 Saturday morning cartoon TV series based on Dungeons & Dragons being reprinted in archives, and yes, this appears to be published by none other than IDW, which has been circling the woke drain for nearly a decade now:

The Dungeons & Dragons Saturday morning cartoon aired from 1983 to 1985, and the weird tale of a group of six kids who ride a roller coaster into the fantasy tabletop role-playing game is still inspiring writers and game designers. The characters popped up in the 2023 film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and Wizards of the Coast created an adventure based on the show to introduce the 2024 rules. The series was a big influence on Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans’ dark comic book series Die, and got its own comic adaptation from IDW in 2022, which will be collected into a deluxe hardcover edition releasing this summer.

Dungeons & Dragons: Animated Adventures Library Edition contains IDW’s three Saturday Morning Adventures four-issue miniseries, which are meant to represent lost episodes of the cartoon. The comics are written by David M. Booher (Ghostbusters) and Sam Maggs (Critical Role) and illustrated by George Kambadais (Gargoyles) and Jack Lawrence (Transformers). While the show was set in a generic fantasy world, the comics take place within D&D’s Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

I seem to remember this Maggs as a sex-negative feminist who ruined a Spider-Man video game co-starring the Black Cat. Even the Ghostbusters comic could very likely have been subject to similar wokeness. With these kind of people now employed by IDW, no wonder it's bad they still have a license to publish anything D&D related. The compilation is said to be nearly $50, so that's a lot of money best saved for better things. It's also not very encouraging when they mention the writer who made a mess of Iron Man as somebody who allegedly drew inspiration from D&D.

Since the subject of IDW comes up, Gizmodo wrote another fawning article about their Star Trek comics, and it looks like they made sure to provide woke pandering in them as well:

...Two new celebratory one-shots will also release in May and September. The first coming in May, Star Trek: Celebrations 2026, sees the return of IDW’s pride anthology, celebrating LGBTQIA+ characters from across the franchise with stories from queer creatives. [...]

With this kind of marketing, can they be trusted to deliver a decent D&D comic that's not filled to the brim with leftist ideologies anymore? Far from it. Nor can they be trusted to take a respectable approach to the characters from the 1980s cartoon series, which, IIRC, was produced by Marvel Productions, the 1980-97 animation studio managed by a business invested in Marvel at the time (the name was changed to New World Animation in its last few years). And the credited writers, of course, are also discouraging. I sure hope anybody who already has or may be making deals to publish creator-owned comics with IDW will rethink their arrangements. They lost the license to publish comics based on GI Joe and Transformers. But even D&D will have to be taken elsewhere with such awful wokesters at the helm.

In the end though, the owners of the IPs that were turned into a mess have to shoulder some blame for letting things go south. In the past, Hasbro may have put plenty of oversight on how much creative control and/or autonomy was allowed for licensees. If they own Wizards of the Coast, then whether it's the affiliate or the main managing company, they've failed the D&D franchise at this point, by allowing IDW's writers and editors to turn it into a disaster, and as I'm aware, WOTC has been alienating D&D fans for years already.

Dan Slott sadly returns to Spider-Man

One of the worst of the woke writers who was ever allowed the job of writing Spidey in the past has been rehired by Marvel for the job - undoubtably with C.B. Cebulski's approval - and Comic Book Club Live's making such an irritating fuss over it:

Dan Slott left Marvel towards the beginning of 2025, burning all his bridges with his long-time compatriots to follow his dream of writing Superman for DC Comics. Just kidding, it was amicable, and in fact Slott has already signed up for at least one Marvel project (that would be Fantastic Four: First Foes). And now he’s returning to Spider-Man, just in time for a brand new movie with the new ongoing series Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day. [...]

Slott was instrumental in crafting the original Brand New Day storyline back in 2008, which followed up on the controversial “One More Day” storyline. That erased the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane, but opened up the door for Peter to date such iconic characters as Carlie Cooper, Shay [Editor’s Note: Does she have a last name? Can we check on that?], and I want to say Captain Marvel, maybe? That can’t be right.

It's pretty apparent where the writer stands on the issue of Mary Jane and the marriage. This article is so blatant. Just how have characters like Carlie and Shay become "iconic" overnight, especially when sales were nothing special even back then? If he sees nothing wrong with doing it all at MJ's expense, that's one more reason why Slott's return to Spidey should be avoided.

And this wasn't the only puff piece to come out recently, dishing out apologia in Slott's favor. There was also ComicBook's coverage of the news:

Marvel Comics has just announced that it is returning to one of Spider-Man’s most controversial storylines. Spider-Man has been around since almost the start of Marvel Comics, and there have been some polarizing storylines, to put it lightly. Things like The Clone Wars and One More Day remain among the most hated Spider-Man storylines ever created. However, some storylines get lumped in with those polarizing tales, including the infamous Brand New Day story that followed Spider-Man’s deal with Mephisto in One More Day. It is that classic timeframe that Marvel is returning to, with a new series that Marvel claims will affect today’s storylines.

Marvel announced that Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day debuts in May, with Dan Slott returning to the title with artist Marcus To (X-Force). The storyline sees Dan Slott returning to the story in which he started his long and successful run on Spider-Man comics, and he has a chance to tell a new story that will play into what is happening in Spider-Man books today.

Spider-Man Creator Talks New Brand New Day Storyline

Dan Slott has written more Spider-Man comics than almost anyone in history, proving that his run on Brand New Day was the start of something special, and not as bad as some fans might remember. This comes down to the writer’s love for the character. “Spider-Man is my favorite character in all of fiction. Heart on my sleeve here—I love writing Spider-Man,” Slott said in the press release. “We’re going to reveal hidden secrets and plant explosive seeds that will pay off and affect what’s happening in Spider-Man’s world today! These will be stories that matter and that will have major consequences!

Anybody who's going to be as contemptuous of Mary Jane as even Slott was has no love for Peter either, and the way they repeatedly dangled carrots was atrocious. It's no accident the columnist made such a laughable statement. But it's also sad how tons of money were completely wasted on these stultifying directions taken. And "reveal" secrets? They already forced said secrets onto the cast members in Sins Past; we don't need more of this tripe.

The new Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day series will see Slott returning to the Brand New Day storyline, which ran from 2008 to 2012 and saw the creator tasked with relaunching Spider-Man’s story after the controversial One More Day, which was a storyline by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada. Slott did the best he could with the cards he was dealt and actually delivered a series of great Spider-Man stories for hundreds of issues, including introducing Superior Spider-Man.

The entire plan for Slott was to relaunch Spider-Man in a new world where no one knew his identity, Harry Osborn was alive again, and Peter Parker’s marriage to Mary Jane never happened. While that latter event is what most fans look at the story with distaste, Slott delivered some incredible stories, and this is the canon that Spider-Man lives in to this day in Marvel Comics. The idea of going back to this time period and introducing something fans have never seen before, while setting up some new future stories, is very exciting news.

Once again, somebody downplays the extent of the damage, to say nothing of failure to admit it was all useless. But it's clear where he stands regarding Mary Jane. The chances Marvel will reverse the fate of the Spider-marriage are slim, but if they do, it'll be insulting to the intellect that a writer as dreadful as Slott would be given the task, much like how Brian Bendis, IIRC, got the task of resurrecting Mockingbird in his Avengers writing. After all, that was obviously an attempt to persuade audiences to validate a bad writer, and such psychology is simply reprehensible as it's disrespectful to the audience, after all the harm Slott and Bendis caused back in the day.

And even if the Spider-marriage is restored, when you have leftists like Slott and Bendis around, you can't expect them to avoid lacing their stories with some kind of woke garbage, no matter what direction they take. After all, that's what led to J. Michael Straczynski's pretentious run on Spidey during 2001-07.